Don't turn off the Devil's Machine
by KaziRede
Summary: When a force of nature beyond Lupin's understanding strikes, he has to team up with a young child with tremendous psychic abilities to stop it. Will Lupin be able to thwart this villain and still keep himself sane? Lupin III/EarthBound crossover.
1. When he strikes

Oh geez, How can I explain this?

It's midnight, I'm tired, scared out of my mind by this seriously lightning storm happening, no soda, and I'm sorta angsty right now. Deal with it.

I won't make this a crossover because I don't think most people won't know what the hell I'm referencing this to. If you know, Kudos to you. Otherwise it can be counted as a crack horror fic. Enjoy.

* * *

**Don't turn off the Devil's Machine**

His hands were shaking. Badly. What seemed like the first time in his life, his hands were shaking so badly, he had a hard time handling his Walther straight. Beads of cold sweat dropped down his face, racing towards his neck and within his red jacket. He heard himself breathing in a shallow and rapid pace, feeling a bitter cold wind grab his lungs as he inhaled. Dear god, this was hell … Where ever he was, what ever he was doing, for the first time in his life, Lupin felt absolute _terror_ fill his heart with desperation so bad, he just wanted to scream, to yell out, to actually call for help.

His calls were absorbed by the darkness.

Every now and then, whenever he had the courage to move his face away from the evil that he saw, he would check to see if his friends, his comrades, his partners are alive. They were all by his side, but they were badly beaten and bruised by the inexplicable attacks that this titan released upon them. He could not just grasp the true form of this beast's attack, the very one that left his team down for the count. Every time Lupin thought he finally defined just what the titan was doing, the attack would do something different that Lupin wasn't expecting; just one of these attacks made Goemon collapse just as the battle began. After that, hell broke loose. All of his teammates put up a good battle, but one after another, they dropped like flies, and now Lupin was left standing to defend himself from this darkness.

"… Lupin …"

Lupin's eyes grew wide as he heard the 'voice' of the darkness call out his name. His hair stood on end, Goosebumps forming all over his arms, and his heart beating incredibly fast. He must've been facing absolute terror. Without thinking rationally, he grabbed his Walther tightly, his finger nestled on the trigger, and shot a bullet aimlessly into the darkness. He didn't even here the bullet make impact with _anything_.

"… Friends …"

The darkness's voice roared like thunder in Lupin's ear, making him convulse with fear. Once more, he glanced down to his fallen friends, their seemingly lifeless bodies pleading to Lupin to save them from this waking nightmare.

"I feel … h … a … p … p … y …"

The darkness unleashed another inexplicable attach against Lupin, who yelled out in pain as bolts of lightning shocked the thief. When the attack was over, Lupin found himself on his knees, breathing hard and feeling like he would die any second. He looked at what he thought was the face of the evil, determined to stand on his feet once more, shakily holding the Walther with both his hands.

"It hurts … Lupin …"

The darkness spoke again, sounding despaired, almost sad.

"Lupin … Lupin …"

Lupin looked down at his hands holding the gun unsteadily, his palms sweaty.

" … Go … b … a … c …k …"

Lupin pointed the gun at the swirling mass of darkness, hiding his fear with every ounce of courage he could muster.

"It's not right … not right … not right …"

Lupin fired one more shot into the void of darkness, again hearing the bullet find no source of impact. By this time, Lupin's courage had just run out, and he fell to his hands and knees, looking horrified.

"Lupin, Lupin, Lupin, Lupin, Lupin, Lupin, …"

The monster kept repeating the man's name, so much so that it started to sound like an unharmonious chorus of banshees screaming his name in his ear. Lupin gave a desperate cry as he covered his ears, trying to block out the noise. It wouldn't stop, dear lord it wouldn't stop. The Darkness somehow could penetrate this man's _mind_ and let the noise continue. It was so distressful, so irritating, so _frightful …_

"I feel .. G … o … o … d …"

Lupin could not take anymore, and with pecks of tears forming at his eyes, glazed over with pure horror, he brought his Walther slowly up to his head tucking the barrel under his chin. It took a while (And a lot of courage) to get Lupin's index finger to find the trigger of this gun, but after a short time, it found its place, and soon Lupin was in position to shoot his very brains out …

"I'm so sad …"

Lupin shivered.

"Lupin …"

His index finger slightly nudged the trigger …

"Lupin …"

One last gunshot was heard within the darkness.

* * *

Don't worry. As long as you _pray, _Lupin will be alright.

HA. GET IT?

... I bet you don't.


	2. When he wakes

I wrote this because I felt unsatisfied with the ending =| so enjoy.

* * *

The first thing Lupin noticed when his eyes snapped open was that it was bright. Too bright. So much so, it made him snap his eyes back shut, letting out a groan of pain. Speaking of pain, that was the second thing he noticed. A sharp pain erupted within his rips, running up all the way to the front of his head. He feebly lifted his hand and brought it against his face, noticing that there was a gas mask over his nose and mouth. Feeling like he did not need it anymore, he grabbed it and slipped it off his head, letting it rest in his palm next to head. He inhaled the stale and cold air through his nose and exhaled warm breath out of his mouth, still feeling pain ripple through his ribs. He opened his eyes again, slowly this time, and stared at the ceiling above him, the bright light above him shining the room.

"Well, well, well …" A familiar, gruff and disgruntled voice said from next to him, "Good to see you finally joining the living."

Lupin turned his head towards the voice, seeing that his suspicions were correct. There he was, Inspector Zenigata in the flesh, leaning against the doorframe of the room. His face was twisted around in fake annoyance, his dark eyes staring straight at Lupin, not even moving once.

Lupin couldn't help but crack a smile, albeit a weak one. "Hey Pops …" Lupin said hoarsely.

Zenigata gave no greeting back, rather, he stepped straight up to Lupin, grabbing a loose chair and setting it beside his bedside, sitting in it. "You do know where you are, right?"

Lupin lifted his head slightly, looking around the room, decked out with hospital gadgets and things he had no idea what they were or what they did. Every so often he'd find some flowers, daintily stacked up in a small vase and a nice little picture of a sailor boat out in the middle of the ocean nailed against a wall. After making all these observations, he laid his head back down against the pillow, breathing out.

"It looks like a hospital room." Lupin said, smiling somewhat.

"Yep." Zenigata simply said, "Been in here for two months in a coma. Do you even remember what happened?"

Lupin shook his head sideways. "Too tired to."

"You shot yourself."

This made Lupin's eyes grow wide, snapping the thief out of his dazed state. He rapidly lifted himself off the bed, letting the woolen blankets slip down to his abdomen, seeing his ribs wrapped neatly and tightly in a bandage wrap. He looked down at himself with horror and tenderly touched his chest with his hand.

"Apparently, during a heist, you just went nuts and shot yourself," Zenigata stated, making his hand in the shape of a gun and pointing it at his chest. "Right here. You were lucky to survive, Lupin. Doctors worked all day and night to make sure you would live. I heard you actually flat-lined … twice in fact."

Lupin stared dully at his hands placed on his knees, just barely listening to Zenigata's words. He can't remember … he just couldn't remember why on earth he would do that. He barely remembers the heist, but he just couldn't remember –

Wait …

Could it be?

Could it be possible that that nightmare he had …?

"Also, apparently one night you had a nasty dream." Zenigata said, leaning his head on his hands. "You were apparently screaming and trashing about. Like something was scaring you out of wits end."

"Don't mention dreams …" Lupin said gruffly, shutting his eyes tightly. "I'd rather not remember the last dream I had."

"Dually noted." Zenigata nodded.

"Where are Jigen and Goemon?"

"Safely locked behind bars waiting for you." Zenigata replied, "They were really worried about you, y'know. They asked me about you every time I saw them. They kept praying you would live"

Lupin let himself sink back into the soft bed and gave out a loud sigh, somewhat relieved his friends were safe. Again, his hand wandered up to his chest, touching the area where he had supposedly shot himself. He turned his head towards the flowers nicely sat in the lilac vase put upon the desk, a nice arrangement of colourful tulips and daisies nestled within the vase. Jerking his head back towards the inspector, he lifted his hand towards the vase and pointed a finger at it. "Who sent those?"

"Apparently, your little play-mate, Fujiko." Zenigata answered, getting up from his seat, "Tried arresting her too, but she disappeared soon after. Seems like she was worried about you too – now get that look off your face, Lupin!!"

Lupin had not noticed the aroused look that appeared on his face until Zenigata had pointed it out (rather harshly), and shook his head violently when he did. He then gave an innocent smug and chuckled a bit, "I'm sorry, 's been two months, y'know?"

"Whatever." Zenigata said, pushing up his hat by the rim with his thumb, "Just know that as soon as you're healthy enough, you're under arrest, you hear me? And don't even think about trying to escape in your condition, I have two of my best men stationed just outside your door just in case you try to do something funny."

Lupin said nothing, but waved his hand in indication that he heard him.

"Get some rest, Lupin." Zenigata said softly, turning to walk out the door, "You'll be joining your friends soon enough."

"I know, I know." Lupin replied, "It's the same usual routine …"

"Not this time, Lupin …" Zenigata sighed, looking back at Lupin one more time before disappearing out the door. "Something had you more wound up tighter than a Christmas present. Whatever is it, I suggest you take a vacation."

"Pops, I've been everywhere from America to New Zealand, I even went to Antarctica twice. The only place I could go that's new would be the moon." Lupin remarked, shrugging his shoulders, "Too bad I'm earthbound, eh?"

"Shut it and go back to sleep, Lupin." Zenigata growled, going out of the door, "And by the way, this thing is locked from the outside, so don't try to sneak out of here."

"Whatever, pops." Lupin sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Thanks for visiting, by the way. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. I'll tell Jigen and Goemon you're awake. They'll be thrilled. Now get to sleep."

"Don't think I'll be sleeping tonight ..." Lupin said, sighing. "I turned off the devil's machine."

* * *

COME ON PEOPLE! You should know the reference by now!! I said the very word in this chapter for crying out loud!!


	3. When he visits

OH FOR THE LOVE OF JIGEN'S FREAKIN' FEDORA!! IF YOU DON'T KNOW I'LL MAKE IT EVEN MORE OBVIOUS. NOW'S THE CHAPTER I MAKE IT A CROSSOVER.

KIDS TODAY WITH THEIR 360's AND THEIR WII'S AND WHAT HAVE YOU …

* * *

Through sheer power and will alone, Lupin was able to repress any memories of the horrible nightmare he had experienced during his time in the coma. All his waking hours, Lupin put off thoughts and feelings of the dream with other thoughts, Like how he'll get out of this hospital, how he'll rescue Jigen and Goemon, where the hell Fujiko could be and what he'll do to her once he finds her … all these thoughts were enough to keep him happy and awake – but a man can stay awake for only so long. Before the master thief knew it, his body and mind was being carried off to a world only his mind could create – unfortunate enough for him, as these memories resurfaced again through his dreams. Again he was caught in the twisted, faceless form of the evil that captured him before, driving his mind to the brink of insanity.

But this time he was alone.

Searing pain flowed through his chest as the massive form draped around his small body, squeezing his air out of his lungs. Lupin tried his best to close his eyes, trying to block the view of this horrifying creature as it squeezed the very life out of him, but soon his compressing body forced him to open his eyes. The swirling mass of darkness seemed to laugh at Lupin's misfortune, lifting his 'hand' and resting it on the thief's chest. Before Lupin could comprehend what was happening, the darkness pierced its 'fingers' through Lupin's chest, having an unrealistic whale escape from his throat. Lupin's whole body erupted in pain, so much so that his mind was lost temporarily to the darkness.

There suddenly came a burst of light in a distance, followed by a child-like yell that Lupin couldn't quite define. Soon after, his body dropped to the ground, his feeble form laying there as he heard a battle ensue behind him. He found his vision blurring, his form too fatigued to get up, and his chest feeling like it was on fire. He soon realized that he felt tired, the wanting urge to rest creeping up on him like a snake. He closed his eyes – a short nap wouldn't hurt, right? It's not like he didn't deserve it …

"If you fall asleep now …" A Child's voice range, "You'll die."

Lupin's body twitched, and soon his whole form convulsed – No, even though that whatever this child said was crazy talk, he sounded right. He'll have time to rest later, whether or not it is in his dream. He coughed harshly before lifting himself with his arms, them shaking as he did. Finally, he was able to sit upright, and he turned his head towards the source of that voice …

… And found a red-capped child floating, a sort of heavenly light emanating from behind him.

The child smiled when he saw that Lupin was awake, despite his surprised look on his face, and reached out his hand towards him. "Oh good, you're awake." He said, "The name's Ness. It's nice to meet you."

Lupin blinked as the child landed softly on the ground, his pleasant smile still beaming at the thief. A moment of awkward silence ran before the child approached studying Lupin and his every detail as he circled around him.

"It seems like he got you multiple times." Ness said, still circling the thief, "And it looks like he almost had you, had I not come in on time."

Lupin blinked, then finally got up, his balance off for moment before he steadied himself. He took another good look at the child circling him before finally finding the chance to speak up. "So, you're Ness, huh?" Lupin asked, the child finally stopping, "What are you, my inner child or something?"

"No, nothing like that." Ness said, laughing, "I just happen to be in your mind, your 'magicant' if you will."

"My … what …?"

Ness laughed at looked at Lupin, his smile wider than ever. "You're 'magicant'. It's sort of like a world within your mind. Everyone has one; it's just that access to it is very limited unless you have the right key, so you normally can't get in." Ness stated, cocking his head, "It's amazing, you're the first non-PSI user I saw that got into his magicant. Place could use a light though."

"Whatever …" Lupin sighed, squeeze the space between his eyebrows. "Just tell me this. You seem to know this … thing that attacked me. Who – or what – is it, why it is here, and how the hell do I get it out of my mind?!"

Ness's smile faded, replaced with a grim look. He stared at the ground for a few moments before finally speaking up in a hushed voice.

"Giygas."

For some reason, the very word was enough to send Lupin's heart racing, his hair standing on end, and his spine shivering. Before he could ask, the Child continued on with his speech.

"He is the entity born out of misery and trauma, growing into woe and fear, then finally to anger and hatred. He has no rational thought or emotion, his might too powerful for his own good. He takess his power and uses to influence the evil in peoples' hearts to control them, doing as he commanded." Ness took a moment of silence, and then stared at the thief looking determined. "You looked to be his next victim here in this dimension."

"Dimension?" Lupin asked, "Like … what, he's not from this world?"

"Of course not!" Ness replied, sighing, "I'm not either. I'm from a world that's free from his grasp. But as soon as I saw that he was touching minds in parallel worlds, I decided I should go and stop him, hopping from one dimension to another until I finally rid of him!"

"Sounds harder than you make it." Lupin said.

Ness gave another sigh, "No, you're right. I've been chasing him for several years. 14 to be exact."

"14? You look like you could be no more than 10!" Lupin exclaimed

"I'm 13, Lupin!" Ness yelled, "I would be 27 had these laws worked with me, but no. All my friends are probably old and married by now, having kids of their own, doing god knows what."

"Hey, if it upsets you that much, kid, why not go back?" Lupin asked.

"I … can't." Ness stated, sitting down, "You've seen the monster, but you have _no idea_ what he can do. Believe me – I still remember the fight I had with him 14 years ago. Lupin, I want to stop this monster before he does harm to anyone else. He almost destroyed the world, figure what he could do if he hopped dimensions. He'd rip apart reality as we know it."

Lupin looked to the side before glancing back at Ness, seeing his slumping form mimicking the hopeless look on his face. Lupin sighed and knelt down to the child. "What can I do?"

Ness perked up, looking at Lupin curiously. "What?"

"He attacked me. He made me shoot myself in front of my partners. He had the nerve to invade my dreams and scare the crap out of me. No one does that and gets away with it. Just tell me what I can do so I can go back to thievery and sex-play."

"You … want to help me?"

Lupin breathed hard through his lips and laughed, slapping a hand on his forehead. "Heck no, anything I do, I do it for me, see? I just want this freak-of-nature out of here before he ruins the world I love – no world means nothing to steal."

Ness blinked twice before a smile appeared on his face, laughing. "You're a big, fat liar, Lupin."

"Am not!"

"Lupin, I can read minds. How do you think I'm here?"

Lupin remained silent, pouting as he turned away from the boy.

Ness laughed and got up, jumping up before floating away. "Well, right now I'm not sure what you can do, But I'm really glad you can help. There's still much I need to explain to you, but right now, it's time for you to wake up."

"So you'll see me again?" Lupin asked, hiding hope with a false sense of annoyance.

"When I have the time, yes." Ness stated, waving, "But really, you need to wake up. Fujiko's there waiting for you, she's going to get you out of the hospital."

"What? But how-?"

"Trust me and wake up!" Ness yelled before Ness disappeared into the light.

Against his will, Lupin's body was flung from the spot he was standing from into pure darkness, his senses returning to him. Soon, the world he was in evaporated, replaced with the familiar hospital scene he was in before. Lupin's eyes flung open, and just as Ness said, Fujiko was in his visions, wearing a nurse's outfit and her dark brown spilling over her shoulders as she roughly shook Lupin awake. Before Lupin could ask what she was doing here, Fujiko smiled and laughed as soon as she found Lupin awake.

"Oh thank god you're awake!" Fujiko yelled, hugging the thief.

"F-Fujiko …?" Lupin hoarsely said, looking at the hospital room around him, "What are you …?"

"No time to explain, Lupin," Fujiko said, bringing up a stretcher beside her, "I'm getting you out of here."

* * *

OKAY DO YOU KNOW NOW?!

YOU DON'T?!

AAAARRRGH


	4. When he sees

I'm enjoying this crossover even though it was never meant to be one. Oh well, that's what happens when you're a rabid EarthBound fan XD

---

Ah, what a relaxing escape it was; Lupin barely had to lift a finger!

Fujiko literally planned out every single detail of this escape, making sure to fill in each nook and cranny this plan had to offer. The very first step of her plan was to release Jigen and Goemon from their prisons, something Lupin was still quite amazed she could do all by herself. It was then after that Fujiko further proved her hidden talents by having Lupin go through a makeover; transforming him from someone who had a bullet shot in his chest to someone who had a really bad car accident (Lupin thought the stop sign impaling his abdomen was a bit much, so Fujiko later scrapped that idea). It was later that he found out that not only had she knocked out both guards guarding the hospital room he was in, but she had also pulled _a lot _of strings to get into the security area to disable any alarms this hospital carried. Finally, she had replaced Lupin's body with that of a dummy, so realistically detailed that it looked as if Lupin was simply sleeping. Once those steps were done, all they had to do was move out of the room and past the two sleeping guards. It was a clean and easy sweep, one Lupin himself was proud of.

It turned out that an emergency back door was located near the major surgery unit, so to anyone who glanced at the two only saw a nurse and an injured man rushing slightly through the halls. When they finally reached the back door, they were met by Lupin's partners in crime, waiting for in a fairly decent sized blue car that Fujiko had picked up. With a little help, Lupin clambered into the car and went off, riding off to the hideout Fujiko herself had picked.

It was well hours away from the hospital in a remote part of the town, a nice little cottage on the edge of the forest. It was here that Lupin finally realized how fatigued he felt and decided to sleep for a bit before he continued on being the master thief he is.

It was this time that Lupin finally found out something was seriously wrong with him.

Lupin's gunshot wound had been feeling sore ever since he left the hospital, but it was nothing out of the ordinary, or at least he thought. But the nearer he got to the hideout, the more the gunshot wound pained him, so much to the point it became hard to hide the fact he was in agony right now. Maybe sleep it off, he pondered, it just might be the fatigue that you have. By morning it would be all right …

Only the pain wouldn't go away.

Now Lupin knew gunshots and their wounds –he'd live through plenty to know what they ought to feel like before and after he was shot. But this pain was unlike any other pain he knew. It left him tossing and turning in his cot all night, the pain feeling as if someone was grabbing his arm _and twisting his heart around_ and wouldn't let go. It took all his effort to stifle yelps of pain that erupted within his throat. Finally, Lupin couldn't take anymore, and just so curious to find out what was causing all of this, he rushed towards the bathroom.

Carefully unwrapping the bandages that had protected his wound from the elements, Lupin took great care of making sure he kept quiet, as to not disturb others from their sleep.

What he saw when he finally finished the unwrapping made him yelp.

Lupin saw in the mirror's reflection that his wound _was not _a normal gunshot wound anymore – in fact, he didn't think he could call it that anymore. Rather, it looked like a beast had clawed at where his wound was, digging deep into his flesh – he was surprised he was alive, and he was even further surprised to see that it wasn't blood oozing out of his wound, but rather, a thick, black liquid that slowly poured out.

What the hell?! Had his shot been infected or something?! Straight away, Lupin's initial reaction was to dig into the medicine cabinet to find something – _anything_ – that could help him –

There came a loud knock at the door, and Lupin jumped, started. He turned around as he heard Jigen's voice yell through the other side of the door.

"Hey boss? You alright in there?" Jigen asked, pounding on the door, "You need to come out here – I found something interesting."

Lupin jumped, glancing at his bandages that spilled over on the floor. Crap, he can't re-wrap his wound, he needed something else to hide –

Eureka! Conveniently placed on the bathroom door was a robe, just big enough to cover the wound on his chest. He frisked it from the door and wrapped it around him, taking care to hide his wound out of sight from Jigen. Finally, he opened the door, coming face to face with Jigen, who looked ultimately disgruntled.

"Yo, Jigen!" Lupin said as casually as he could, giving him a small wave. "What's the trouble."

Jigen said nothing. Instead, he lifted his arm, where he revealed a squirming teen in his grasp, trying to escape from him. "Y'know this kid?" Jigen asked, "He claims to know you –caught him sneaking in my window."

Lupin blinked at the black-haired, red-capped boy who continued to squirm in Jigen's grasp. With a great deal of difficulty, Lupin lifted his arm, pointing a hand at the boy. It was him! The same boy who had invaded his dream last night! Could it be that …?

"Um … Jigen?" Lupin asked, taking the boy from Jigen, "Mind leaving me with him for a moment? Y'know, so I could teach him a lesson about trespassing?"

"Whatever …" Jigen said, turning away from the bathroom door, "Don't make me the one to dispose of him."

"Wouldn't think of it." Lupin smiled, waving.

Lupin closed the door and separated himself from the boy, traveling over to the toilet and sitting on the closed lid, his elbows relaxed on his knees. He closed one eye at the boy, who stood there, smiling, and sighed.

"Didn't think you'd be back so soon, Ness." Lupin said, rubbing his head, "I didn't even think you were real."

"Well, that's really all I'm here for." Ness stated, walking towards the thief, "I just wanted to let you see me in the flesh. It's easier if I visit you in your mind, but just in case, here I am before you."

"Dandy." Lupin muttered, his hand unconsciously floating towards his chest.

"Hey … you okay?" Ness asked, noticing Lupin's awkwardly put-on robe, "You seem to be in pain."

"I think my gunshot wound got infected or something, nothing I can't deal with." Lupin said, smiling at the boy – and immediately hissing through his teeth when he tapped his fingers gingerly on his chest. "It … It just stings a bit, nothing to worry about."

"I didn't even need to read your mind on that one, Lupin." Ness said, glaring at the thief. "Lemmie see your wound, perhaps I can heal it."

"You can heal wounds?" Lupin asked, flabbergasted, "Why didn't you heal me when we first met?"

"I can't do that in your mind, Lupin, doesn't work like that." Ness stated, motion a hand towards his robe. "Now take it off. I wanna see the extent of this wound."

Lupin sighed and undone his robe, setting it over the rim of the bathtub, seeing Ness's expression change _dramatically_. He slapped his hands over his mouth, his complexion going pale, and his eyes went wide. Ness rushed over to his wound, barely waving his fingers over the wound, as if scanning it. Ness looked at Lupin sadly, his eyes blinking."

"When did this start …?" Ness asked, his voice silent.

"Just … Just as I got out of the hospital, why?"

"Then …" Ness backed away, looking as if he would fall over any second, "Then Giygas already had gotten to you … I was too late after all …"

"What do you mean? Can't you fix it?" Lupin asked, getting up from the seat.

Ness swallowed, glancing down at the floor before looking back up at the thief. "Perhaps … if only temporarily." Ness stated, "But … I can't heal it fully, not unless I rid of Giygas."

"What exactly is wrong with me?" Lupin asked.

"Since Giygas couldn't attack you through your mind," Ness began, walking over towards Lupin, "He's attacking you out here from within your body. He's destroying you from the inside."

"That doesn't sound good." Lupin simply said. "How do you plan of fixing it temporarily?"

Ness walked over and placed his hand over the wound and closed his eyes, concentrating his powers. "I can't get rid of Giygas within your body, but I can at least keep him from destroying you by knocking him out for a few hours." Ness instructed, looking at the thief, "This may hurt a bit …"

Lupin felt a jolt of power race through his body before he went limp, falling on the floor. He saw Ness rush over to him, and soon after, he felt himself being picked up by his hands, leaning him against the bathtub. Lupin shook his head, trying to shake away the dizziness he felt before he looked back at Ness, who was smiling again. "What was that?" Lupin asked, using the bathtub as support as he got up.

"PSI Brainshock." Ness stated simply, tilting his head towards the side, "I used it to knock out Giygas for a while. If you start feeling the pain again, tell me right away, okay?"

Lupin nodded and steadied himself on his feet before he looked at the child, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey Ness …" Lupin said in a hushed voice, "What would happen if … if this thing was never resolved?"

"I … rather not tell you, Lupin." Ness replied, "It's … too graphic for my tastes."

It was then that both jumped when they heard another knock on the door, only a softer and more smoother knock than Jigen's. Lupin waltzed over to the door, opening it as happily as he could, seeing Fujiko there, looking both perplexed and as if she _really_ needed to use the bathroom.

"Hey, Fuji-cakes!" Lupin exclaimed, wrapping his arms around the vixen, "And what brings you here this time at night?"

"I need to use the bathroom …" Fujiko groaned, looking behind the man. "So you and that boy get out of here. **Now.**"

"Better listen to the girlie, Ness." Lupin stated, letting Ness pass between him and Fujiko. He then bowed his head in a playful formality and smiled at Fujiko, his face lit up with happiness. "As for me …."

"No." Fujiko barked, pushing the thief out of the bathroom, "Go talk with that child of yours!"

"But –."

The door slammed in his face, leaving the child and Lupin there, staring at it with a mixture of confusion, and in Lupin's state, distressed.

"So … that's your lover?" Ness asked, smiling.

"You could definitely say that." Lupin said, a smirk coming on his face.

--

_I believe the morning sun … always gonna shine again._


End file.
